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To Cut Costs, McClatchy Lays Off 3.5% Of Staff

In a memo to staff yesterday, McClatchy President-CEO Craig Forman announced the company would be laying off 3.5% of its staff in an effort to cut costs. The layoffs will affect almost 140
employees company-wide, according to The Wrap.

McClatchy is taking other measures to cut costs, including requiring seniors leaders to take two weeks of unpaid leave, according
to CNN.com. The company is also on a hiring freeze.

Forman wrote, “While these actions are necessary to protect and further our future, they are painful and difficult decisions. Talented
and passionate people who have dedicated their energy to our mission, colleagues we call friends and rely on everyday, will leave the company.”

Despite this bad news, the company reported solid gains across digital-only revenue, with in an
increase of 21.8%.

Addressing these factors, Forman wrote of the layoffs: “This is not an unusual path in an ambitious transformation — the road is often filled with ups and
down, and it’s seldom a straight line up. While our digital revenue continues to grow, we still face significant print advertising revenue declines.”

Forman also cited the recently
introduced print tariffs as a factor in the company’s need to downsize and restructure. He also stressed the company's dedication to restructuring itself as a “digital-DNA,
journalism-driven media business” for the future.

McClatchy is the publisher of a more than two dozen newspapers across the country, including The Miami Herald, The Kansas
City Star and The Charlotte Observer.